Verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold] It is supposed that the history given here did not occur till the close, or near the end, of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. For it was after his insanity, as we see chap. iv. 33-36, and this happened near the close of his reign. The authorized version, which is followed in the margin, fixes the date of this event seventeen years earlier, and ten years before the king's insanity. A few observations on this image may be necessary:- 1. It is not likely that this image was in human form-the dimensions show the improbability of this; for what proportion is there between sixty cubits (ninety feet) in length, and six cubits (nine feet) in breadth? 2. It is not likely that this image was all of gold; for this would have required more of this precious metal than the wholeprovince of Babylon could produce; for as I suppose the sixty cubits apply to the perpendicular altitude, so I take it for granted that the six cubits intend the diameter. Now a column of gold of this height in diameter, upon the supposition that the pillar was circular, contains five thousand seven hundred and twenty-five and a half cubic feet; and as there are nineteen thousand avoirdupois ounces in a cubic foot, the weight of the wholepillar would be eight million two hundred and sixty-two thousand eight hundred and six pounds, ten ounces of gold.

3. It might have been a pillar on which an image of the god Bel was erected.

The image itself might be of gold, or more probably gilt, that is, covered with thin plates of gold, and on this account it might be called the golden image; and most probably the height of the image may be confounded with the height of the pillar. Or perhaps it was no more than a pillar, on the sides of which their gods and sacredemblems were engraven, surmounted with Bel on the top.

The plain of Dura] The situation of this place is not exactly known; there was a town or city called Dura, or Doura, in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris.

Ver. 1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold , etc.] Not of solid gold; but either of a plate of gold, and hollow within; or of wood overlaid with gold; for otherwise it must have took up a prodigious quantity of gold to make an image of such dimensions as follow; this be ordered his statuaries or workmen to make for him; whether this image was for himself, or his father Nabopolassar, or for his chiefgod Bel, or as a new deity, is not easy to say; however, it was made for religiousworship: the reasons that moved him to it cannot be ascertained; it might be out of pride and vanity, and to set forth the glory and stability of his monarchy, as if be was not only the head of gold, but as an image all of gold; and to contradict the interpretation of his dream, and avert the fate of his empire signified by it; or to purge himself from the jealousies his subjects had entertained of him, of relinquishing the religion of his country, and embracing the Jewishreligion, by his praise of the God of Israel, and the promotion of Jews to places of trust and honour; or this might be done by the advice of his nobles, to establish an uniformity of religion in his kingdom, and to prevent the growth of Judaism; and it may be to lay a snare for Daniel and his companions; of which we have an instance of the like kind in chapter six. When this image was made is not certain; some think in a short time after his dream before related; if so, he soon forgot it, and the God that had revealed it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions place it in the eighteenth year of his reign; and some are of opinion that it was after his victoriesover the Jews, Tyre, Egypt, and others; and that being flushed therewith, in the pride of his heart, ordered this image to be made; and out of the spoils he brought with him from the various countries he had conquered. Mr. Whiston places this fact in the year of the world A.M., and before Christ 587; and so Dr. Prideaux f117 , who makes it to be in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, agreeably to the above versions.

Mr. Bedford puts it in the year before Christ 585: whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits ; a common cubit being half a yard, it was thirty yards high, and three yards broad; but Herodotus says the king’s cubit in Babylon was threefingers larger than the usual one; and, according to that, this image must be thirty five yards high, and three yards and a half broad; but since there is so great a disproportion between the height and breadth, some have thought that the height includes the pedestal on which it stood; and, allowing twelve cubits for that, the height of the image was forty six cubits. Diodorus Siculus makes mention of a statue of gold in the temple of Belus, which Xerxes demolished, which was forty feethigh, and contained a thousand Babylonish talents of gold, which, at the lowest computation, amounts to three millions and a half of our money; which image Doctor Prideaux f121 conjectures was this image of Nebuchadnezzar’s; but this seems not likely, since the one was between thirty and forty yards high, the other but thirteen or fourteen; the one in the plain of Dura, the other in the temple of Bel: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon ; that so it might be seen of all, and there might be room enough for a vast number of worshippers together. The Septuagint version calls this place the plain of Deeira, which some take to be the Deera of Ptolemy f122 ; but that is in the province of Susiana; rather this is Duraba f123 , which he places near the riverEuphrates, in the province of Babylon. Aben Ezra says, this is the place where the children of Ephraim fell, and where the Chaldeans slew the Jews when they came into captivity. In the Talmud it is said, “from the river Eshal unto Rabbath is the valley of Dura;” in Arabic , “dauro” signifies “round”; it was a roundvalley. The Jews have a notion that this was the valley in the land of Shinar where the tower of Babel was built; and observe, that “although the design of that generation was not accomplished, yet after their times their punishment was made manifest, in that they said, “let us make us a name”, ( Genesis 11:4) for Nebuchadnezzar having wasted and subverted many kingdoms, and destroyed the sanctuary, thought it possible to put in execution the wickeddesign of the age of the dispersion; hence it is said, ( Daniel 3:1), “King Nebuchadnezzar made an image, etc. and set it up”, arwd t[qbb , “in the valley of generation”, in the province of Babylon, which is the valley spoken of in ( Genesis 11:2,9) what therefore they could not do, he attempted to do; hence he gathered all the people to worship the image, which agrees with ( Genesis 11:4), for he put a certain vessel of the vessels of the temple on the mouth of it (the image), on which was engraven the divine name, that he might render ineffectual the intention of the dispersed generation but the Scripture says, ( Jeremiah 51:44), “and I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up, and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him”; for Daniel came and caused that vessel that was swallowed to be taken out of the mouth of the image, whence it fell, and was broke to pieces, which is the same as that in ( Genesis 11:4) f125 .”
Matthew Henry Commentary Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (Dan. 2:1-13) It is revealed to Daniel. (Dan 2:14-23) He obtains admission to the king. (Dan. 2:24-30) The dream an the interpretation. (Dan. 2:31-45) Honours to Daniel and his friends (Dan. 2:46-49)

Dan. 2:1-13 The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of man who live in great pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also The king said that his learnedmen must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death as deceivers. Men are more eager to as as to future events, than to learn the way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events increases anxiety and trouble Those who deceived, by pretending to do what they could not do, wer sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they did not preten to.

Dan. 2:14-23 Daniel humbly prayed that God would discover to him the king's dream, and the meaning of it. Praying friends are valuabl friends; and it well becomes the greatest and bestmen to desire the prayers of others. Let us show that we value our friends, and their prayers. They were particular in prayer. And whatever we pray for, we can expect nothing but as the gift of God's mercies. God gives us leav in prayer to tell our wants and burdens. Their plea with God was, the peril they were in. The mercy Daniel and his fellows prayed for, wa bestowed. The fervent prayers of righteousmen avail much. Daniel wa thankful to God for making known that to him, which saved the lives of himself and his fellows. How much more should we be thankful to God for making known the great salvation of the soul to those who are no among the worldlywise and prudent!

Dan. 2:24-30 Daniel takes away the king's opinion of his magicians an soothsayers. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the all-sufficiency of the Creator. There is One who can do that for us and make known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption, and the secret designs of God's love to us therein Daniel confirmed the king in his opinion, that the dream was of grea consequence, relating to the affairs and changes of this lower world Let those whom God has highly favoured and honoured, lay aside all opinion of their own wisdom and worthiness, that the Lord alone may be praised for the good they have and do.